


just because we can

by babyhandsnestor



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Marriage of Convenience, basically they get married for the financial benefits, fuck the fafsa, tags will be updated!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:28:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28403238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babyhandsnestor/pseuds/babyhandsnestor
Summary: Ethan hums thoughtfully. “Any way that I can be an independent?”Mark laughs. “Well, no, unless you became a veteran or a parent of a child, or got emancipated or married this past year without telling me.”Ethan sighs in disappointment and continues setting up his account, jokingly shooting back, “Hey, we should get married for the benefits!”The other doesn’t reply for an extended moment. Ethan looks up to see Mark blink back at him, not laughing, but instead a serious look of consideration on his face.“Wait, Ethan. Marry me,” Mark says.“What,” squeaks Ethan.AKA; Ethan gets accepted to college to study film, and then two best friends decide to get married for better financial aid.
Relationships: Mark Fischbach/Ethan Nestor
Comments: 33
Kudos: 117





	just because we can

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> important note comes first: i do not ship them irl, and i respect their relationships. i don't think they are or will get together! i just love their dynamic :)
> 
> anyways, hi! i'm back! sorry this isn't the awaited "one hell of a year" partner fic, but i promise i'm working on that! this idea just randomly came to me a month ago and it has not left my mind since. this is a college!roommates!married for convenience!fake relationship!au all mashed up together and oh boy, i can't wait to see where it goes haha 
> 
> i still can't bring myself to write heavy angst, so this will likely be fluffy and soft and domestic! thank you for being here, and i hope you enjoy!

Ethan’s heart is pounding out of his chest as he unlocks his phone, quickly hitting the dial button. It rings for only a few seconds before it’s picked up.

“Eth, what’s up?” answers Mark, image blurry for a second as he props up his phone for the FaceTime call. Ethan can tell that the other is working in his dorm, wearing an old comfortable t-shirt and glasses.

“I just got the email,” blurts out Ethan, “my application status was updated, the admissions decision.”

“Oh shit!” exclaims Mark, pushing away his laptop to turn full attention to Ethan on-screen. “Have you opened it?”

Ethan shakes his head no.

“What are you waiting for, go for it!”

Ethan’s cursor hovers over the link, but then he covers his face with his hands. “I’m nervous. What if I got rejected?”

“We’ve talked about this before, you’re going to be alright either way, Eth. You tried your very best, yeah?” says Mark. When Ethan hums in response, Mark continues, “Then, that’s all anyone could ask for. C’mon, don’t leave me hanging, open it!”

“Okay, okay okay okay,” mumbles Ethan, then holds his breath as he clicks. His eyes scan over the words that appear on the screen.

_Dear Ethan Nestor,_

_Congratulations, and welcome! On behalf of the Admissions Committee, I am delighted to inform you of your acceptance into our Film Studies program-_

“HOLY SHIT,” says Ethan, and slaps his hand over his mouth and stops reading to stare at the far wall.

“What?” Mark asks. Ethan just blinks, looking around with wide eyes and trying to process the information in his head, and Mark prompts again. “Ethan?”

Ethan fights to get his brain under control, and calms himself down for a few seconds so he can reread the words in front of him on the screen.

“‘ _Dear Ethan Nestor; congratulations, and welcome,_ ’” he echoes out loud, hushed, like he might wake himself up from this dream he must be in if he speaks too loudly. “‘ _I am delighted to inform you of your acceptance into our Film Studies program for the upcoming fall semester…’_ I- I got in. I got in!”

“You did it!” Mark exclaims, pumping his arm in the air, and Ethan finally lets out a breath of relief and happiness and excitement. “Holy shit, Eth!”

Covering his mouth with a hand, Ethan scrolls down through the letter and skims its contents in disbelieving silence for a moment. None of it processes, but it’s alright. He looks up at Mark, who’s watching him with a wide grin and a raised brow.

“Oh my god, I did it.” It’s finally sinking in. “My dream school. I’m going to be able to go to Boston in August and study film and _make_ films! And go to the same school as _you_ and see you all the time and hang out and-” Ethan cuts himself off and runs a hand through his hair. These months of fantasizing about getting in and attending school in the fall _were going to come true,_ and he catches his breath, pressing his hands against his pounding heart. “-holy shit, I’m so happy.”

“You deserve it so much,” Mark says, eyes soft and genuine. If they weren’t hundreds of miles apart right now, Ethan would hug him. “I’m so proud of you, man.”

Briefly, his mind flashes back to all the times that Mark had supported him and given encouragement through his portfolio process, proofreading his essays and looking over his film projects to give feedback. He’s overwhelmed with gratefulness and appreciation and love for his friend, but it’s so much that he doesn’t quite know how to voice it, and there’s something else important nagging at his mind.

“Fuck, I gotta tell my dad!” yelps Ethan. He leaps up from his bed, throws open the door, and calls out as he races down the stairs.

Skidding to a stop in front of his very bewildered father, with Mark laughing on his phone screen in one of his hands, and the acceptance letter on his laptop screen in the other arm, Ethan announces giddily, “ _I got accepted!”_

That night, they celebrate. They call Ethan’s mom, who is of course delighted and overjoyed, and his dad goes out spontaneously to get them a celebratory cake. Ethan chatters to Mark to no end about all the classes he’s excited about and how much he’s dying to be able to go see Mark again in person, when he’s not in a completely different state.

There’s a moment where Mark seems like he’s seriously contemplating something. “I don’t know, maybe you’ll get to see me sooner than you realize,” says Mark, a sudden mischievous look in his eyes.

Ethan’s eyes widen. “What? Really?” A pause. “Wait, are you coming back this summer after all? But don’t you have that internship? Or are you just teasing? Don’t get my hopes up, oh man. Is there a holiday I’m forgetting about or-”

Mark laughs. “Just soon.” Ethan opens his mouth, but Mark continues before Ethan can ask further. “You just gotta wait and see, Ethan. I’m not telling you any more.”

The younger groans. “This is why I hate you.”

“You love me,” Mark teases back, and yeah, Ethan can’t argue against that.

\-----

The giddiness and excitement from his acceptance carries over the next few weeks. With the sun rising earlier, and graduation and summer visible on the horizon, Ethan feels better than he ever has.

He hums along during his entire drive to school and walks in brighter than he’s ever felt. He barely pays any attention in class, instead restlessly fiddling with his pencils and bracelet to stare off and daydream about what the next year would bring. 

The four years of high school are finally catching up to him, and senioritis is hitting him hard. He only has just enough motivation to hand on until he graduates and finally can go to college. 

Thankfully, his teachers all seem to understand that all their seniors seem mentally checked out, anyways. The workload seems to be lightening up this time of the year, and at the end of the day, Ethan barely has any homework obligations on his mind - instead, he’s practically vibrating in his seat thinking about a new film idea he has, and counting down the seconds until the bell rings.

_Three, two, one-_ the tone plays over the intercom, finally. Excited to get home, Ethan leaps up with the other students to spill out into the hallways. 

He almost stops dead in his tracks - he would’ve, if it didn’t mean causing an entire traffic jam in the crowded hallway - when his eyes fall on something at the end of the hall, in front of a classroom’s doorway.

Mark?

His friend, who hasn’t spotted him yet, is laughing as he chats with one of his former teachers. Ethan carefully cuts through the stream of students to get to him.

“Mark!” he calls out, and finally, the other turns his head and a wide grin spreads across his face.

“Eth, hey!” 

Mark wraps his arms around him as soon as he reaches him, enveloping him in his familiar warmth and sturdiness. Ethan very nearly cries - he’s missed his best friend so much and it’s been almost a full year since he hasn’t been able to see him. 

They can’t embrace for as long as they want to, as they are in a crowded hallway and Mark’s former teacher is still there. Reluctantly pulling away, Mark turns to the teacher quickly.

“Guess I’ve finally caught who I was waiting for,” says Mark. Ethan gives a tiny wave by his side as the teacher chuckles, and the younger quietly admires Mark’s bright smile. He’s never gotten over how charming and charismatic Mark can be around others. “It was so nice catching up with you, Mr. Gray.”

“Of course, Mark, it’s a pleasure! Wishing you best in your studies.”

“Thank you so much!”

Before Ethan can register, mind still whirring over the shock of Mark being in his high school when he should be at college, Mark says goodbye to the teacher and herds Ethan back into the flow of students headed toward the exit.

“Mark, what the fuck? What are you doing here?” Ethan finally blurts out, shoving open the door to the outside parking lot and briefly holding it open for his friend. He nudges Mark out of the way of everyone’s path to the side so they can finally pause for a second and catch up.

“Damn, I come all the way here and you treat me like this,” Mark complains jokingly. “You’re so ungrateful.”

Ethan shoves him lightly. “Idiot, you’re supposed to be in _Boston_ right now! And it’s- dude.” He pulls out his phone to check the time. He can barely remember his own schedule and manage time, but somehow he has all of Mark’s class schedule memorized, so he knows when Mark’s available to call. “ _Dude_ , you’re supposed to be in class right now! What’re you doing! Aren’t you supposed to be, like, the good student out of the two of us? Was this planned? Oh shit, did something happen? Are you okay?”

Mark catches his wrists to hold them still, which he’d been gesturing with his arms wildly as he’d talked. “Shh, I’m fine, everything’s fine. Can’t a guy just skip classes for a day to come congratulate his best friend for getting into college and celebrate? A bit belated by a few weeks, yes, but I’m still here.”

Ethan blinks, stunned to silence from a sudden overwhelming feeling of love for his friend. He opens and then closes his mouth, then the only thing that comes out is, “I cannot believe you skipped classes, mister. You’re paying money to be there, y’know?”

The other’s eyes crinkle as he laughs, releasing Ethan’s wrists, and Ethan surges ahead.

“I’ve never once considered you’d be one to skip classes- I _can’t_ believe you’re here. How did you even get here? Does your mom know? I-” The younger rubs his eyes, and sighs lightly. He can’t help the adoring smile that finds its way onto his face. “Mark, I can’t believe you. Thank you so much.”

“Of course. Only for you,” Mark’s voice is rounded at the edges, his brown eyes fond and warm, and everything about him is just soft and safe and familiar. 

“Aw, you love me,” Ethan coos, sweetly and over-the-top, giggling at Mark’s face when the older puts on an exaggerated frown and sticks his tongue out in disgust at the cheesiness. He pats Mark’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I love you too.”

His best friend grumbles under his breath, but the corners of his mouth twitch. Ethan, satisfied, finally pulls the other along to the further end of the parking lot where he’d parked this morning.

For a moment, it feels like last year all over again. Mark had been a senior and Ethan a junior - and before Mark was allowed to have passengers on his car (since he’d just gotten his license), he’d always walk Ethan to the bus, despite the fact that delaying even an extra 30 seconds to leave the parking lot meant you would be stuck in the student traffic.

After that limitation had been lifted and Mark was allowed to drive passengers outside his immediate family, they’d carpooled pretty much every day.

It’s one of the things Ethan has missed most since Mark graduated.

Ethan unlocks the doors as they approach his car and slides into the driver’s seat. When Mark’s also seated and buckled in, he takes a moment to pause and just take it in.

“Wow,” says Ethan.

“Hm?” questions Mark.

“I don’t think I’ve ever driven you anywhere. It’s only ever been _you_ driving _me._ ”

“Oh fuck, you’re right.” A pause, as Mark tears the school visitor sticker off his shirt. “I don’t know if I feel safe in a car if you’re the one driving it.”

Ethan rolls his eyes and turns the keys, putting the car in reverse so he can back out the parking space. “I’m a great driver, I’ll have you know!”

Of course, they get stuck in traffic as all the students and buses are trying to leave the school grounds at the same time, but Ethan doesn’t mind the delay for once. He plugs in the aux cable and puts on a playlist in the background, and Mark tells Ethan to head to their usual Chipotle. They fall into their familiar banter, and Ethan asks about everything he’s missed in Mark’s life and Mark does the same to Ethan.

They always fit together like puzzle pieces, easily slipping back into their back-and-forth dynamic like they’d never been apart. 

And now that he’s going to his dream school, and the same destination as Mark in the fall, it feels like his future is finally starting.

\----

“Christ, this hill is steeper than I remember,” Mark groans, putting down the paper bag with their food and plopping down onto the grass.

“Yeah,” agrees Ethan, pushing his hair out of his face. 

They’re on top of a relatively large hill, a slope of grass surrounded with trees. It’s soothingly quiet with no other people there, with just the faint sounds of children playing at the nearby playground somewhere further down the field.

In contrast, in the winter, this hill is usually crowded. People of all ages come with their families and friends to go sledding, brightly colored jackets a blur flying down the slope. In late spring now, though, Mark and Ethan have pretty much the entire place to themselves.

They sit side by side in the soft grass. Ethan picks at a patch of clovers while Mark digs through the Chipotle bag, wondering who maintained the grass during the warmer seasons - he’d never seen anyone else besides Mark and himself hanging out on the field outside of winter.

He takes a good, real look at Mark for a moment. His friend has darker circles under his eyes, from the added stress of college. Ethan also can’t help but notice that Mark has gotten _bigger-_ like, what the fuck, he got buffer since the last time Ethan saw him.

Mark has obviously been working himself incredibly hard. Since his dad had passed away a few years ago, Mark had been pushing and working himself down to the bone, pursuing two degrees in engineering and film, hunting down internships, and applying to job after job to try to make extra money on the side for student loans. Although Mark had insisted that it was his treat, since they were celebrating Ethan’s accomplishment, Ethan still feels like he should have paid for the food.

Mark hands Ethan the bag, unwraps his own burrito, and takes a massive bite. In the usual Mark-eating-anything fashion, Mark makes this absolutely explicit sounding noise, and Ethan can’t help but facepalm.

“What? _”_ says Mark.

“Nothing,” Ethan replies, failing to hold back his giggles. “You just always make these awful noises whenever you eat.”

“I’m just hungry!” Mark says indignantly. “I didn’t eat breakfast because I was on the bus on the way here.”

Logically, Ethan can’t think of any other form of transport that Mark could’ve used to get to him, other than driving his own car, which he obviously didn’t. But he’s still surprised. “You took a fuckin’ bus? Isn’t that like, hours long?”

“What else? It was fun, though. Even if I did do assignments the entire ride.” Mark says thoughtfully. “Honestly, I feel like a cross-country bus trip would be so fun. But yeah, no, it was super expensive. Had to work a few extra hours these few weeks so I could make it here.”

“Oh, man.” Ethan mutters. 

“Worth it, though,” adds Mark. “I dunno, I’m mostly just stressed out over housing right now. Because I was guaranteed on-campus housing for freshman year, but after this summer, I have to find my own place. Housing in the city is so expensive so I’m just trying to find somewhere cheap and also find a roommate or housemates, y’know. But it’s okay. I’ve gotten used to it. Broke college student life, y’know.”

Ethan takes a bite of his burrito and then lies back, watching the sky. “Damn, guess that’ll be me next year then, too. Dunno how I’ll survive, I barely understand money.”

Mark nudges his shoulder. “Eh, don’t worry about it too much. We’ll get through it together.” He hums, thinking for a moment, and asks, “How was your financial aid, though? Did they give you a lot?”

“I dunno,” Ethan admits. “I think they said they were going to send me more details in the physical mail, but I haven’t gotten it yet.”

“Have you sent the FAFSA to them, at least?”

“The what?”

Mark pauses. “FAFSA. Have you not filled that out yet?”

“No…” Ethan sits up. “Is it important?”

“Yes, if you want financial aid,” says Mark. “Free Application for Federal Student Aid.” When he sees Ethan start getting anxious, he pats the younger on the shoulder. “Hey, it’s alright. It should’ve opened in like October, but the latest you can send it in is, like, June. I haven’t filled mine out either, I was planning to do it after finals. We can do it together after this, yeah?”

“Okay,” agrees Ethan. “Thank you.”

“Of course. Fuck the American college system and how goddamn expensive it is, y’know.”

Ethan snickers. “Yeah, definitely.”

\----

They’d sent an hour or so catching up and gazing up at the clouds after finishing their burritos. Mark tells him everything that he hadn’t during their calls - a couple of projects he’d done for some classes, his friends that he wanted Ethan to meet, that one time that he almost fought a goose at Boston Common.

Ethan drives them back to his place, both of them feeling full and warm and satisfied. He grabs his laptop as Mark pulls his own out of his backpack, both of them settling at the kitchen counter, then Mark directs Ethan to the financial aid website.

“How do they even decide how much money they’ll give you?” asks Ethan out loud, groaning as the website sends him to his email in another step to setting up his account. 

“Well, obviously it asks you about your taxes and income and everything.” Mark replies, not looking up as he texts his mom for some extra information. “And it depends on whether you’re a dependent or an independent, since if you’re dependent on your parents, it gives you less money.”

The younger hums thoughtfully. “Any way I can be an independent?”

Mark laughs. “Well, no, unless you became a veteran or a parent of a child, or got emancipated or married this past year without telling me.”

Ethan sighs in disappointment and continues setting up his account, jokingly shooting back, “Hey, _we_ should get married for the benefits!”

The other doesn’t reply for an extended moment. Ethan looks up to see Mark blink back at him, not laughing, but instead a serious look of consideration on his face.

“Wait, Ethan. Marry me,” Mark says.

“ _What,_ ” squeaks Ethan.

“Marry me,” repeats Mark, like what he’s saying is completely normal.

“Mark, _what?_ Ha ha very funny, but also you can’t joke about something like this- Are you okay? Did you turn into me or something? Because you know I love impulsive decisions but also this is-”

“No, no no, listen, I’m one hundred percent serious,” interjects Mark. “It’ll work out for the both of us. We both get filed as independents so we get more financial aid _and_ if we end up paying taxes we might get better deductions. If it doesn’t work, then we can just get divorced!”

Ethan stares at Mark. Blinks, and then sighs. He knows that Mark is absolutely already planning out every detail and weighing the pros and cons. He knows anything he says now can’t stop Mark anymore- once Mark has one of his ambitious genius ideas in his head, he does not let it go. “Mark, are you sure you’re not high right now?”

“Yes, I’m absolutely sure, you fucking dumbass. We’re both broke, we’re both over 18. We can get a marriage license real quick.” Mark looks at him with puppy eyes. “Please marry me.”

“I…” Ethan heaves a heavy sigh, accepting his fate. He can’t lie- it’s a pretty good win-win situation. What could they lose? “God, never in my life did I expect getting proposed to like this. Rest in peace to my dream wedding, hello to convenience marriage.”

A wide grin appears on Mark’s face, and then he looks around - holding up a finger for the universal sign of _hold on_ \- then he leaps out of his chair. Grabbing the milk carton pull tab off the counter that Ethan had left there that morning, Mark rounds the corner to where Ethan is sitting and then drops to one knee, presenting the pull tab as a ring.

“A proper proposal,” declares Mark. “Mr. Ethan Mark Nestor, I ask for your hand in marriage, in hopes that we will be less broke and afford a place to live next year.”

Ethan chokes on a laugh, slapping a hand to his forehead before groaning out, “ _Fine._ ” Mark happily fumbles with the “ring” and slips it onto Ethan’s finger, then Ethan hauls Mark up again. “I can’t fucking believe you.”

Mark has the audacity to do a dramatic bow. “Me, your wonderful soon-to-be-husband.”

“Unfortunately,” Ethan mutters, fighting down how flushed he feels all of the sudden, for some reason. His mind is racing. “Hey- you better ask my dad for his blessing!”

“I’ll convince him somehow,” responds Mark confidently, and Ethan rolls his eyes, without a doubt that he would. 

_God, what were they getting themselves into?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can you tell i miss the outside and also am going through the college app process LMAO
> 
> this is inspired by my own experiences lol during summer my sister and i would just grab milkshakes after school and sit on our local sledding hill! i really miss it :') also, i made it specifically boston because they met there for the first time irl and also boston is my fave place in the world!
> 
> i wanted to say- thank you for the overwhelming support, all the time. you all are so kind and i love this tag so much. i just checked - it's been _exactly_ 1 year (december 29, what a coincidence) since i published the first chapter of one hell of a year and holy shit, we've come a loooong way. it's really been one hell of a year *cue laughtrack* :’)
> 
> i have a bunch of stuff planned for this fic and while it's still really hard for me to write things quickly LOL i hope this one will be finished! 
> 
> thank you so much for reading!! find me @babyhandsnestor on tumblr, and feel free to leave kudos/comment if you'd like, they mean the world to me <3


End file.
